Meeting with EBRD Vice President Alain Pilloux

We are not opposed to privatization. We are against
mass or ‘shock’ privatization, Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko said as
he met with EBRD Vice President Alain Pilloux on 7 June.

“You are aware of our approaches to the privatization
of public property. I do not think that my views of privatization differ much
from the approaches of the European Bank. We are absolutely not opposed to
privatization. It is quite a natural process. But we believe, as, probably, all
sensible people do, that if the state cannot manage some asset, then this asset
should be given to an effective owner. We proceed from this, and this is the
main thing. We are against mass and ‘shock’ privatization. This is the essence
of our approach,” Alexander Lukashenko noted.

According to the head of state, the public property
was created by the whole nation. “Selling it for a penny would mean giving rise
to injustice and stirring discontent among people. We saw it happen in the
neighboring countries of the former Soviet Union. We would not want
privatization to become a zone of tension in the society,” the President said.

Alexander Lukashenko believes that the transfer of
public property to private investors must bring benefits to the country. It
should envisage good salaries for workers of the privatized companies, new jobs
and regular revenues to the state budget.

The President spoke highly of the cooperation between
Belarus and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. “The
prospects are great. We have learned a lot from you, your recommendations. I
thank you for the projects, especially infrastructure projects, that we are
implementing together with you,” he said.

The EBRD has invested in the Belarusian economy a
total of about €2 billion. In 2017 the investments totaled €163 million.
“These are good figures. I think that Belarus is a good partner of the European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development. I am particularly pleased that the
Bank has made some adjustments to our relations, shows an interest in our
public sector and, most importantly, wants to work with our public sector,” the
President added.